Decisions
by Hanniebis
Summary: When Faye returns from a spot of bounty hunting it hits a nerve and sparks a bit more than a heated argument between her and Spike.


_**Disclaimer:** _

_I do not own Cowboy Bebop, its plots or its characters. It's just me and my imagination._

This is my first fanfic in years, so it's short. It also involves a character (Jack) entirely fictionalised by me.

**Decisions**

Spike lit a cigarette and inhaled, pacing the Bebop kitchen slowly. Why the hell was Faye taking so long? He couldn't believe she'd gone off after a bounty without letting Jet or him in on it first. She'd been gone for four days now, and Spike was sick of eating carbohydrates. Rolling his eyes, Spike watched Jet as he sat on the sofa, hunching his huge dark frame over a pot of noodles, shoving the things quickly into his mouth. Suddenly, there was a clattering noise up the stairs. It was Faye. She thundered down into the kitchen, red in the face, kicked a wall with one, long, bare leg, then thrust her bony hands onto her hips. She looked ready for a fight. Jet looked up mid slurp and almost raised his voice, but decided against it. He was too old for this. If they wanted to fight like kids, they could fight like kids. Spike raised an eyebrow, then stubbed and flicked the half smoked cigarette up and into his shirt pocket.

"Took you long enough without us."

"Shut up, pretty boy." Faye smiled wryly. "For your information, he wasn't easy to find. Besides, I had the misfortune of running into an old acquaintance on the way."

"You've got a debt in every city on every planet, Faye. It's almost a talent."

"Yeah, well, unlike some losers around here, I do know how to have fun."

"I'm not surprised, when you're dressed like that." Spike smirked.

"Whatever." Faye yawned and stretched over to pull out the cigarette from Spike's jacket, reaching into the pocket of her yellow shorts to pull out a lighter. She puffed on it quickly, barely inhaling, and examined the nails on her left hand. Spike watched her vacantly. She always smoked like that when she was worried about something.

"Spike, the bounty's here on the Bebop. I brought him in off the Red Tail."

"What?!"

Jet stood up and slammed his chopsticks down onto the table.

"I'm outta here, you two."

"What - hey, Jet, this is your problem, too!" Spike shouted.

"Everything's my damn problem on this ship. You can sort this out yourselves." Jet sighed and disappeared to the back of the ship. Faye pulled a face at the door after Jet had left her and Spike alone.

"Why did you bring the bounty onto the ship? I thought the idea was that we handed them over and got paid. Y'know, so we can _eat _once in a while." Spike shook his head.

"He's just a kid."

"Big deal. I've handed kids over before."

"No, he's a kid, Spike. He's up there taking a god damn nap," Faye pointed upwards, "and he's seven."

"Well why the hell is there a bounty of two million out on a kid that young?" Spike stared at Faye.

"He's wanted for murder. He managed to pick up a gun and shoot the guy who came for his father. There wasn't much info. Everyone just assumed he was older than he is."

"Jeez." Spike whistled.

"Tell me about it." Faye threw the cigarette butt into an empty noodle cup. "So what are we gonna do?"

"We hand him over." Spike shrugged.

"Christ, Spike. I thought _I_ was cold."

"They'll take care of him, right? Why should we care? It's a good bit of money. We need it right now."

Faye lashed out at Spike, but Spike already held out an open fist. Calmly, he wrapped his long, thin fingers around Faye's wrist, smiling at her lazily.

"Hey, I had to learn the hard way, growing up. So did you, so did Jet. Why does it matter?" Spike eyed Faye carefully. Why was she trying to get out of this? She'd seen and done worse things.

"Look, I'm not a saint." Faye narrowed her eyes, "I just feel sorry for the kid."

"Forget him. It's just one kid. You're getting emotional, that complicates things."

"And you're a bitter, cold-hearted bastard."

Spike forced a laugh and looked away, saying nothing. He squeezed Faye's wrist harder until she struggled free and shoved him forward, sending them both crashing and rolling down to the floor.

"God dammit Spike, I hate you. I've been here with you guys for two years but I just don't make enough money to put up with your crap on a daily basis." She struggled to shove Spike's weight off her and kicked at his feet with her boots, but he pinned her down again without any difficulty.

"Congratulations baby, I hate you too, so we're even." Spike knew Faye loathed it when he used pet names. But Faye had stopped struggling and closed her eyes. A single tear trickled down her cheek to her ear and disappeared into her black hair. Spike had never seen Faye cry. It was wrong.

"What's going on?" Spike loosened his grip slightly. He knew he should get up, but somehow he couldn't.

"He's like Jack. The kid, he looks exactly like my brother Jack did. It's like seeing a ghost."

Spike pursed his lips and hung his head. So that was why she couldn't hand him over. Another tear was working its way down Faye's face, smudging her makeup. It was gross somehow, and Spike didn't want to see her cry anymore. He had to stop it. He moved his face closer, and pushed his lips against hers roughly. Faye fought against him for a moment, but then her arms and shoulders slackened. Spike was surprised that she gave in so easily as he worked his tongue into her mouth and she responded by doing the same, breathing heavily and digging her nails hard into his hands. Spike pulled away suddenly and looked at her.

"Faye, this can't happen now."

"I know," Faye avoided his gaze and bit her lip. "So get off me, then."

Spike hid a smile, despite himself. What had just happened? It was Faye. Faye Valentine. What was he doing? He pulled her up and she sat gingerly on the sofa.

"What was that about hating me?" Faye raised her eyes to Spike's warily.

"I'm still allowed to hate you."

"Oh yeah. I don't doubt that."

Spike watched Faye silently for a moment as she flexed her arms. Maybe there were _some_ good things about her. He spun abruptly on his heel, grabbed his jacket and headed for the stairs in one swift movement.

"Where are you going?"

"To wake the kid up. Then I'm going to borrow your ship."

"Like hell you are. What are you gonna do with him?"

"I'm not handing him over, alright?"

Faye stood up, surprised. "Then where?"

Spike reached into his pocket, took out his last cigarette and flicked it in Faye's direction.

"It's okay, he'll be safe. I know a place."

Faye smiled.

"Yeah. You always do."


End file.
